Tilting chair seat and back rest



Aug. 24, 19486 g N P, L 2,447,501

TILTING CHAIR SEAT AND IBACKREST Filed Feb. 19, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 r 2 %;1 8- I J; SENGPIEL 2,447,601

TILTING CHAIR SEAT AND BACK REST Filed Feb. 19, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR L l/cg: I @epppie] RNEYS Patented Aug. 24, 1948 TIL'EING eH msE-AT ANDLBACKT'RESTWLTW- assignor 'ApplicationFebruary);1946gf$efialfN0 483580 mamma 5-1-1191:

My invention relates generally tolehairssofi-the type having atilting s'eattandhack and inriparticular to a chair havingese'at: and-aback elements which automatically t adj ust themselves i relatively as the. back isinclined. and..,commonly.ereierrednfiv to as a posture chair of theigeneralv-ztype shown and described in U. S; Patent No..x1,909;01'8 issuedlxis. to me on May 16, 1933..

It has been an object. ofthepresent: :inven tion to provide a chair of the abovetype. which-is'.:.:10. an improvement. over prior: chair: arrangements i: including that of my patent aforesaid. 1. Another a object is to provide a-chair in which the seat and; i the back are interd-ependentin their pivotal moves-o 2 ments and in which thehackWi1l-.m0v.e angu1arly'1 at an acceleratedmate; as scomparednwith the 2 ans gular movement of the seat; and. thus assume' position relative to ,thesea-t which isimost'rnatural and comfortable for the occupant.

A further object has beenato'provideiai-chainitfl having a back so pivotallyi mounted that its anguia lar movements shall correspond;substantiallyeto the movements of the occupants-body; whereby movements of the chair back-relative to theioccue pants body, such as wouldproduce-creepingizof 5 the occupants clothing, will be substantiallyzpree vented.

It has also e n hjecttopmvide ag-chair 1.0m a

- 42 are -preferablyifiormedat the. longitudinaledges this type, having a back *smmountsdzaS tozipenmlt an ample amount of tilting, movement in relation/59 to the movement ofthe-seatlg These and other objects which will; be: apparent Y! to those skilled in the art have-been accomplished by the device shown inthe accompanyineh'draw ings, of which: i.

Fig. 1 is a side,- sectional elevation: of mohair; embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a similareviewshowingethevparts their tilted positions; y

Fig. 3 is a plan :view0f-the-mechanlsmi Gin-11340 bodying my invention .7

Fig. 4 is an enlarged :transverseiragmentar sectional View taken on line IV-rIV ofiFig; 3";=:and I Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary-.vsectiona. e. view taken on line V+V of Fig.3. t Referringto the drawings l hav tzshownim invention as applied to aychairxhavingithe usua supporting pedestal 10 which is. adaptedto receiv and adjustably support.- acspin'dle l I. 'Thezs'pindl carries at, its upper end a head 12 havingriaspa'ce side walls [3 connected by a lateral wall .14 Angle-iron arms liarerigidlysecured toath'esi'de: walls 13 of the headandthe 'are'iextendectlfor wardly having their, outer ends upreferablyi iflare outwardly-- and p'ivotally eunitedv to tthe sforwardx ofiz that -.it extends.-;across and-istlocatedybelowthe v block lll od-- i l ck s ri id ya-secured b tween-the :1

: upon agpivottrodfl l' carried/by the seat zflanges t:

l6, suitable lspacersrzai, beingzproyidedionztherod I to maintairitthebracketincentraliposition,1 i: xricarried hyrthehead lZ- is a bell cranhmember 33 which is pi-votal1y mountedupoma pivotrrod 34 supportedbyathezsidegwalls l3=oiefthe head; This memberfis providedi with annpstanding 1 bo1t arm--35 and .witha reanward y andupwardly. in-

clined slid arm 316.1 Theislide-armis so arranged Y si eearms-sfl sofsthe bracketifia-andds the ef re:

p y:mq a ezt e ew tha @The slide l;ar,m:.-i t P l;W th-a smqothmpn l u fa e 14!. act 1 as a=-b rm r thab ck wfiroovedz'guideways the armsand th hl c eisiproymedwith guide:

i le s it-1am -;reqesses flhformed tithroughzethe. Theislidega theibellgcrankmember a lon itudinal-slot 43 forstherslidm of zfasteni-ng means-. 50. passing ing -i'eoenti'o I through; the; block;- and. into ;a slide latefi'l .ldisposed adjacentithelowerefacei ofazthe-slidez arm :1

Whereby'the; block-All and thezarm'. 3l-lrare slida. yilmiil i 11.?

--1 of itssendssbearingsagainstwthe lateral walllfll of the head'zand; the i other-- end bearing --against #a washer 54 heldtineplace:nponithe "bolt by'means i of an adjustingri-nutii screw threaded tofthe outerzendiof -the bolt;- The belt passes througlw an elongatedv-i apentire-56: formed in the wall- I 4- and also throughan elon'gate'd aperture 50 miirnedin the upper end of the boltfarnr 35 of' th bell crank-"members The head Btofithe bolti'srlocatedf ff on the sideiof the arm 35 -whichis opposite the 3 wall l4 and a laterally arranged V-shaped ridge 62 is formed on the surface of said surface of the arm in line with the aperture for the tilting engagement of the bolt head.

Thus, it will be understood that whenever a person sits upon the chair of the invention there will be thereby applied against the rear portion of the seat a downward pressure which tends to initially pivot the seat back and down about the pivots 2820, thereby carrying the chair back 22 along with the seat 2|. Then, whenever the chair occupant desires to lean backward to some more comfortable semi-reclining position, this is accomplished by the application of pressure by the occupant directly rearwardly against the chair back 22. Such pressure against the-chair back 22 levers the bracket 26 downwardly about the pivot 3| and this in turn rocks the bell crank 33 downwardly about its pivot 34; the change in the distance between the pivots 3i and 34 being permitted by sliding .of the. block 48. upon the bell crank .arm 36. coincidentally therewith the downward pull against the pivot rod 3! depresses the rear endsof the seat flanges l6 which pivot upon their bearing-s 2020 relative to the stationary head l2 and angle arms ll5.

It will be understood that this levering motion of the chair back applies additional stress to the spring 52 through the bell crank 33, so that when the rearward pressure against the chair back is subsequently released the spring 52 will return the chair to its normalupright position. Thus, it will be understood that the mechanism applying the force of the spring 52 for the purpose of resisting tilting of the chair seat M is directed through the bell crank device 33 and is located at substantially the fore and aft center position of the chair seat, and because of the tension of the spring the chair seat normally tends to remain substantially level whether occupied by a heavy or light weight person. However, in the case of either person,'addition of backward presposition which i recognized as the most natural and comfortable position for the occupant. 0bviously, the degree of movement of the back and seat will depend upon the pressure placed upon the back thereof, and the tension of the spring 52 which may be controlled by manual adjustments of the nut 55.

Obviously, some modifications of the details herein shown and described may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims, and I do not therefore wish to be limited to the details herein shown and described, the form shown being merely the preferred embodiment thereof.

What is claimed is:

'1. A chair comprising a seat, a support for the I seat, means pivotally connecting said seat to said support, spring means tending to oppose tilting movement of said seat in one direction, a back, means pivotally connecting said back at its lower end to the rear end portion of the seat, bell crank means pivotally carried by said support and having one arm thereof engaging said spring means, and means rigidly carried by said back for slidable connection with the other arm of said bell crank for causing relative pivotal movement of said back and seat as said back is tilted back and forth upon its pivotal support..

sure against the chairback 22 by the occupant motion the bell crank levering device which si-' multaneously tilts the chair seat 2| downwardly 2. A chair comprising a seat, a support for the seat, means pivotally connecting said seat to said support,spring means tending to oppose tilting movement of said seat in one direction, a back, a back bracket attached to said back and pivotally carried by the rear portion of said seat, a'bell crank member pivotally carried by said support and having a bolt arm coacting with said spring means, said bell crank having a slide arm, means rigidly carried by said bracket and slidably engaging said slide arm for causing tilting movement in unison of said seat and said back under the influence of said spring means.

3. A chair comprising a seat, a support for the seat, means pivotally connecting said seat to said 7 support, spring means tending to oppose tilting movement of said seat in one direction, a back,

J a back bracket attached to said back and pivto a predetermined degree while lowering the assembly tilts backwardly, the distance between a the occupants hip axis and the region of frictional contact between his clothing at the shoulder portions of his body and the chair back pad otally carried by the rear portion of said seat,

a bell crank member pivotally carried by said support and having a bolt arm coacting with said spring means, said bell crank having a slide arm, slidable connecting means between said back bracket and said bell crank slide arm for causing tilting movement in unison of said, seat 24, is reduced to a minimum throughout all angular motions of the chair, and that this substantially avoids creeping and wrinkling of the occupants clothing incidental to movements of the chair back. 'Prior art arrangements which embody no such bodily displacement of the chair backrelative to the chair seatinvariably cause wrinkling of the occupants clothing in connecto oscillate about its pivot atan accelerated rate and consequently tilts the back at a corresponding,rate, thus placing the seat and back in the and said back under the influence of said spring means.

4. A'chair comprising a seat, a support for the seat, means pivotally connecting saids'eat to said support, spring means tending to opposeltilting. movement of said seat in one direction, a back,

aback bracket attached to saidba-ck and pivotally carried by the rear portionof said seat, a bell crank member pivotally carried by saidsupport and having a bolt arm and a slidearrn, a slide block rigidly carried by said bracket and slidably engageable with said slide arm to permit angular movements of said bell crank and said bracket to be transmitted'to each other, and means connecting said bolt arm to said'spring means, whereby tilting movement of said seat and said back will be influenced by said spring means.

5.v A chair comprising a seat, a support for said seat; seat flanges rigidly carried by the seat,

rigid armscarried by and extending forwardly fromsaid support, a forward fixed pivotal connection carried by said arms for pivotally mounting the forward end portion of said seat, a rear depressible pivotal connection carried at the rear end portion of said seat, a back pivotally connected to said depressible pivot connection, a bell crank pivotally carried by said support and having its pivotal connection below a line drawn between the pivotal connections carried by said seat and said arms, spring means coacting with said bell crank to oppose tilting movement of said seat and said back, and slidable means connecting said back with said bell crank for permitting said seat and said back to tilt in unison and relatively to each other.

6. A chair comprising a seat, a support for the seat, means pivotally connecting said seat to said support, spring means tending to oppose tilting movement of said seat in one direction, a back, a back bracket attached to said back and pivotally carried by the rear portion of said seat, a bell crank member pivotally carried by said support and having a bolt arm and a slide arm, said slide arm being formed with a longitudinal slot, a slide block rigidly carried by said bracket and slidably engageable with the upper surface of said slide arm to permit angular movements of said bell crank and said bracket to be transmitted to each other, a slide plate mounted on the under surface of the slide arm, means passing through the arm slot for connecting said plate to said block, and means connecting said bolt arm to said spring means, whereby back and forth tilting movement of said seat and said back will be influenced by said spring means.

'7. A chair comprising a seat, a support for the seat, means pivotally connecting said seat to said support, spring means tending to oppose tilting movement of said seat in one direction, a back, a back bracket attached to said back and pivotally carried by the rear portion of said seat, a bell crank member pivotally carried by said support and having a bolt arm and a slide arm, a slide block rigidly carried by said bracket, antifriction rollers carried by said block for rolling engagement with the upper surface of said slide arm, means for maintaining said rollers in contact with said slide arm, and means connecting said bolt arm to said spring means, whereby back and forth tilting movement of said seat and said back will be influenced by said spring means.

WILLIAM J. SENGPIEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

